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Toro Energy
Overview
Countries worldwide are working towards decarbonization and paying more attention to clean energy sources. About 10 percent of the world's electricity is produced from 440 power reactors, and more countries like Japan, Germany, the UK and the US are revitalizing their nuclear energy capacities to reduce fossil fuel production while improving energy security.
Australia produces 12 percent of the world’s uranium, behind Canada (13 percent) and Kazakhstan (43 percent). It is also home to the Wiluna uranium project, a well-established uranium resource, which is also the flagship asset of Toro Energy (ASX:TOE), a uranium exploration and development mining company that actively seeks to uncover value from other commodities in its existing highly prospective project ground.
As of September 24, 2024, Toro holds JORC-compliant uranium resources of 112.7 million pounds (Mlbs) uranium oxide (U3O8), which includes the flagship Wiluna project, Dawson Hinkler deposit (100 ppm U3O8 cut-off), and Theseus and Nowthanna deposit (200 ppm U3O8 cut-off).
The 100-percent-owned Wiluna uranium project includes four key deposits – Lake Maitland, Centipede, Millipede and Lake Way – and offers significant uranium exposure of 87.8 million tons (Mt) at 331 ppm for 73.6 Mlbs U3O8 at 100 ppm cut-off (JORC 2012). It is located only 30 kilometers southwest of Wiluna in Central Western Australia.
The Wiluna uranium project has received state and federal approval (subject to required amendments) and has been granted mining leases.
Considerable research over recent years has identified processing redesign opportunities from unique geological attributes within the uranium deposits, but particularly at Lake Maitland, as well as the ability to extract the inherent vanadium held within the uranium ‘ore’ for a vanadium by-product.
Within the uranium mineralization envelope, the Wiluna project is estimated to contain 141.8 Mt vanadium oxide (V2O5) at 286 ppm for 89.3 Mlbs of V2O5 at 100 ppm V2O5 cut-off (JORC 2012), as of September 24, 2024.
The unique geology of the Lake Maitland deposit and the processing redesign have allowed for a mining and processing option exclusively for Lake Maitland, that could be economic on its own or be the economic spearhead of a longer-term, larger Wiluna mining operation (dependent on market conditions and approvals). The stand-alone Lake Maitland option, aided by the economic efficiency of the new processing design, results in a transformational potential increase in production from the Lake Maitland deposit.
The scoping study for the stand-alone Lake Maitland uranium-vanadium operation option shows potential for exceptional financial returns with a pre-tax NPV of AU$832.8 million, a short payback period of 2.5 years, 48 percent internal rate of return, and low capex of AU$291 million (US$203 million), based on price assumption of US$85/lb U3O8, US$5.67/lb V2O5 and a 70 cents US$:AU$ exchange rate.
The design phase of Toro Energy’s beneficiation and hydrometallurgical pilot plant is on track and in line with plans to begin operations in the second half of 2024. The pilot plant will test the improved beneficiation and hydrometallurgical circuit developed by Toro from bench scale research at a closer-to-production scale and as single streams. It will also test potential ore from the three uranium-vanadium deposits that Toro believes will make up an extended Lake Maitland operation – these include Lake Maitland, Lake Way and Centipede-Millipede.
The company will commence a large sonic core drill program to provide bulk, but targeted potential ore, for the upcoming pilot plant program.
Toro Energy has also recently initiated a refresh and update of its Lake Maitland scoping study using the latest, more favourable commodity pricing and exchange rate guidance.
The Lake Maitland deposit is part of a joint venture partnership with two reputable Japanese corporations, Japan Australia Uranium Resource Development. (JAURD) and Itochu.
Toro has been actively evaluating the prospectivity of its Wiluna asset portfolio for minerals other than uranium, including nickel and gold.
Toro’s Dusty nickel project is located on the northern, eastern and southern shores of Lake Maitland and the Lake Maitland uranium deposit and is focused on two main target areas: Dusty and Yandal One. These properties will be the subject of a proposed demerger, following Toro’s recent strategic review of its non-core assets and future plans to solely focus on its uranium development opportunities and its flagship Wiluna project.
Toro Energy’s management team and board of directors have extensive experience in the mining industry, with combined expertise that includes working at major mining houses, exploration companies, uranium mining operations, corporate financing and government and community relations.
Company Highlights
- Toro Energy is a well-established Western Australian uranium exploration and development company that actively seeks to uncover value from other commodities in existing highly prospective ground.
- Toro holds JORC-compliant uranium resources of 112.7 Mlbs uranium oxide across its Western Australian projects.
- Toro’s 100-percent-owned flagship Wiluna uranium project, located 30 kilometers southwest of Wiluna in Central Western Australia, 87.8 Mt at 331 ppm for 73.6 Mlbs U3O8 at 100 ppm cut-off over four deposits: Lake Maitland, Centipede, Millipede and Lake Way.
- The company has defined a significant maiden vanadium resource of 89.3 Mlbs of V2O5 inside the uranium mineralisation envelope.
- Scoping study completed for a stand-alone Lake Maitland Uranium-Vanadium operation shows potential for exceptional financial returns.
- In addition to its flagship uranium project, Toro’s strategic evaluation of the Lake Maitland tenure has resulted in the discovery of massive nickel sulphide and vein-hosted gold, which include the Dusty Nickel Project and the Yandal Gold Project.
- Following a recent strategic review, Toro is considering to solely focus on its uranium development opportunities and demerge its portfolio of non-core projects, including the nickel, gold and base metal assets in Western Australia.
- The company is led by a management team and board of directors with direct experience in the uranium exploration and mining as well as base metal exploration industry.
Key Projects
Wiluna Uranium Project
Toro Energy’s flagship asset is located only 30 kilometers from the town of Wiluna in the northern goldfields region within central Western Australia. The Wiluna project contains 87.8 Mt at 331 ppm for 73.6 Mlbs U3O8 at 100 ppm cut-off over four deposits: Centipede, Millipede, Lake Way and Lake Maitland. The asset has been de-risked and optimized to improve yield and has successfully incorporated the processing of a vanadium resource as a by-product. A scoping study was completed for a stand-alone Lake Maitland uranium-vanadium operation.
Project Highlights:
- De-risked Uranium Project: Toro Energy has de-risked the Wiluna uranium asset by:
- Obtaining state and federal environmental approvals. Retrospective amendment to substantial commencement date condition will be required as well as amendment to mining proposal required as a result of further studies which significantly enhanced the project (refer below)
- Securing mining leases
- Identifying a simple yet effective mining process
- Extensive laboratory testing of a new and efficient beneficiation and processing technique inclusive of the extraction of vanadium for a valuable by-product.
- Uranium Exploration assets: Toro also owns 100 percent of three other exploration projects in Western Australia that have a total uranium resource of 28.2 Mlbs at Nowthanna, Dawson Hinkler and Theseus.
- Lake Maitland Pit Expansion: A 2022 pit expansion campaign, based on the new beneficiation and processing flow sheet and a stand-alone Lake Maitland mining operation, increased the potential of uranium ore and the asset by US$608 million in potential gross product value.
- Scoping study at proposed Lake Maitland Uranium-Vanadium Operation: Conducted by mining engineers at SRK Consulting Australasia, and metallurgical and processing engineers at Strategic Metallurgy, the scoping study results highlight the project’s potential for robust financial returns (assumes a US$70/lb U3O8, US$5.67/lb V2O5 price and a US$: AU$0.70 exchange rate).
- Scoping Study Financial Metrics Refresh: A refresh of the scoping study is underway to incorporate current financial metrics and improved uranium pricing.
- Further Expansion of Scoping Study: to incorporate amenable ore from Toro’s Lake Way and Centipede-Millipede uranium deposits into the proposed processing operation at Lake Maitland.
- Expanded Resource at Lake Way and Centipede-Millipede deposits: Expansion of the stated U3O8 and V2O5 resources at both the Centipede-Millipede and Lake Way uranium-vanadium deposits was conducted by reducing the stated U3O8 and V2O5 resource cut-off grades to 100 ppm (from 200 ppm):
- The stated Centipede-Millipede U3O8 resource expands by 25 percent or 5.98 Mlbs to 29.95 Mlbs contained U3O8, with a reduction in average grade to 351 ppm U3O8.
- The stated Lake Way U3O8 resource expands by 15 percent or 1.79 Mlbs to 14.12 Mlbs contained U3O8, with a reduction in average grade to 406 ppm U3O8.
- The stated Centipede-Millipede V2O5 resource expands by 17 percent or 6.6 Mlbs to 45.2 Mlbs contained V2O5, with a reduction in average grade to 281 ppm V2O5.
- The stated Lake Way V2O5 resource expands by 9.5 percent or 1.1 Mlbs to 12.7 Mlbs contained V2O5, with a reduction in average grade to 307 ppm V2O5.
- Pilot Plant Design Commissioned: A detailed pilot plant design is being undertaken to further assess the new processing flowsheet for Lake Maitland at a closer to ‘operational’ scale. The pilot plant design is on track incorporating all aspects of both uranium and vanadium production. A sonic core drilling program will commence to deliver potential ore to the pilot plant currently in design for Wiluna.
- Robust Local Infrastructure: The assets are within an established mining center, which means much of the required infrastructure is readily available. The project has access to power and water, which reduces initial development costs.
- Joint Venture Partnership: Toro Energy has entered into a joint venture partnership with JAURD and Itochu for its Lake Maitland deposit. Both corporations have the right, but not the obligation, to earn a combined 35 percent interest in the project upon contributing US$39.6 million, and an additional proportionate share of expenditure thereafter, once a positive final investment decision has been made based on a definitive feasibility study.
The Dusty Nickel Project – Discoveries of Massive Nickel Sulphide
Toro’s Lake Maitland tenure is located in the Yandal Greenstone Belt within the Yilgarn Craton of Western Australia, a gold district within a world-class gold and nickel province. With little exploration for non-uranium minerals ever conducted on the properties, Toro considers the project area highly prospective for nickel, gold and base metals.
In 2020, Toro made a blind discovery of massive and semi-massive nickel sulphides associated with the base of a 7.5-kilometer unbroken length of previously unknown komatiite (Dusty komatiite) – arguably the first massive nickel sulphides discovered in the Yandal Greenstone Belt, which is located 50 kilometers east of the world-class Mt. Keith nickel deposit. The Dusty nickel project is located near the Lake Maitland uranium deposit and contains two key target areas: Dusty and Yandal One.
Continued exploration and diamond drilling on the project has resulted in four discoveries of massive/semi-massive nickel sulphide zones to date with only 4.5 kilometers tested so far at a single depth along a 7.5-kilometer komatiite magnetic trend. Only limited testing for massive nickel sulphides has been undertaken to date of an approximately 15-kilometer strike length of known komatite - ultramafic target rock. With such limited drilling on the Lake Maitland tenure, it is yet to be known whether other similar magnetic anomalies are also komatiite-ultramafic rock and how much more rock is prospective for massive nickel sulphides on Toro’s 100-percent-owned Dusty nickel project.
Project Highlights:
- Four zones of massive nickel sulphide discovered: Toro has discovered four zones of massive and semi-massive nickel sulphides: Dusty, Houli Dooley, Jumping Jack and Dimma. Significant diamond drill results from these discoveries to date include:
- DUSTY
- 9 meters at 2.07 percent nickel from 250.9 meters downhole (TED07) including:
- 2.0 meter at 4.01 percent nickel from 250.9 meters downhole; and
- 2.0 meters at 3.85 percent nickel from 255.5 meters downhole.
- 2.6 meters at 3.45 percent nickel from 184.5 meters downhole (TED04).
- 7.2 meters at 1.05 percent nickel and 0.26 percent copper from 252 meters downhole (TED22).
- 9 meters at 2.07 percent nickel from 250.9 meters downhole (TED07) including:
- HOULI DOOLEY
- 3.05 meters at 1.59 percent nickel from 297.75 meters downhole (TED14).
- JUMPING JACK
- 3.45 meters at 1.42 percent nickel from 240.2 meters downhole (TED37).
- 2.44 meters at 1.16 percent nickel from 231.6 meters downhole (TED38).
- DIMMA
- 4.31 meters at 1.16 percent Ni from 243.3 meters downhole (TED41).
- 3.13 meters at 1.42 percent Ni from 314 meters downhole (TED42).
- 4.6 meters at 1.61 percent Ni from 194.2 meters downhole, including 3m at 1.09 percent Ni from 166 meters downhole (TED54).
- 2.1 meters at 1.83 percent Ni from 147.1 meters downhole (TED55).
- DUSTY
- Yandal OneTarget Area: The Yandal One Target Area is located some 17 kilometers south of the Dusty discoveries and with limited drilling, Toro has proven the existence of another komatiite with the potential to host massive nickel sulphide.
Toro Yandal Gold Project
The Lake Maitland tenure is located only 20 kilometers northeast of the world-class Bronzewing and Mt McClure gold mines within the same Greenstone Belt, the Yandal, within one of the most famous gold provinces in the world, the Yilgarn Craton.
Early exploration by Toro at the Golden Ways target area in the north of the project has uncovered surface rock chip samples of up to 70 g/t gold and significant drilling results, including:
- 5 meters at 4.4 g/t from 22 meters (TERC24)
- Including 2 meters at 9.93 g/t from 22 meters
- 4 meters at 3.3 g/t from 28 meters (TERC25)
- Including 1 meter at 10.9 g/t from 28 meters
- 2 meters at 3.79 g/t from 10 meters (TERC38)
- Including 1 meters at 7.33 g/t from 10 meters
- 3 meters at 1.41 g/t from 9 meters (TERC36)
- Including 1 meters at 2.76 g/t from 10 meters
Management Team
Richard Homsany - Executive Chairman
Richard Homsany has extensive experience in the resources industry, having been the executive vice-president for Australia of TSX-listed Mega Uranium since April 2010. He has worked for North Ltd, an ASX top 50-listed internationally diversified resources company in operations, risk management and corporate, before its takeover by Rio Tinto.
Homsany is an experienced corporate lawyer and certified practicing accountant (CPA) advising numerous clients in the energy and resources sector, including publicly listed companies. He was corporate partner at international law firm DLA Phillips Fox (now DLA Piper), where he advised clients on a range of transactions and matters including capital raising, IPOs, stock exchange listing, mergers and acquisitions, finance, joint ventures, divestments and governance.
He is a fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) and a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He has a commerce degree and honors degree in law from the University of Western Australia, and a graduate diploma in finance and investment from FINSIA (State Dux).
Homsany has significant board experience with publicly listed companies in Australia and Canada. He is the chairman of ASX-listed copper explorer Redstone Resources. and TSXV-listed iron ore and gold explorer Central Iron Ore Limited. Homsany is currently the chairman of the Health Insurance Fund of Australia Limited.
Michel Marier - Non-executive Director
Michel Marier joined Sentient in 2009 as an investment manager. Before joining Sentient, Marier worked eight years in the private equity division of la Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. Marier holds a master’s degree in finance from HEC Montreal and is a CFA charter holder.
Richard Patricio - Non-executive Director
Richard Patricio is the CEO and president of Mega Uranium, a uranium-focused investment and development company with assets in Canada and Australia.
In addition to his legal and corporate experience, Patricio has built a number of mining companies with global operations. He holds senior officer and director positions in several junior mining companies listed on the TSX, TSX Venture, AIM and NASDAQ exchanges. He is currently also a director of NexGen Energy (TSE:NXE, Mkt Cap. C$2.7 billion). He previously practiced law at a top-tier law firm in Toronto and worked as an in-house general counsel for a senior TSX-listed company. He received his law degree from Osgoode Hall and was called to the Ontario bar in 2000.
Katherine Garvey - Legal Counsel and Company Secretary
Katherine Garvey is a corporate lawyer who has significant experience in the resources sector. Garvey advises public (both listed and unlisted) and proprietary companies on a variety of corporate and commercial matters including capital raising, finance, acquisitions and disposals, Corporations Act and ASX Listing Rule compliance, corporate governance and company secretarial issues. She has extensive experience drafting and negotiating various corporate and commercial agreements including farm-in agreements, joint ventures, shareholders’ agreements, and business and share sale and purchase agreements.
Garvey is a senior associate at Cardinals Lawyers and Consultants, a corporate and resources law firm in West Perth, and company secretary of the Health Insurance Fund of Australia Limited. Garvey is also legal counsel (Australia) to TSX-listed Mega Uranium, and company secretary to TSXV-listed Central Iron Ore.
Dr. Greg Shirtliff – Geology Manager
Dr. Greg Shirtliff has over 20 years of experience in industry-related geology and geochemistry, including a PhD in mine-related geology and geochemistry from the Australian National University. Since his studies, Dr Shirtliff has spent over 17 years in various roles in the mining and exploration industry ranging from environmental, mine geology, resource development, exploration and management roles in exploration and technical projects inclusive of engineering and metallurgical. His roles have included a number of years at ERA-Rio Tinto’s Ranger Uranium Mine, as the senior geoscientist for Cameco Australasia and more recently as the lead geologist and technical manager for Toro Energy, where he is the exploration and technical lead responsible for increasing the viability of the company’s uranium and mineral resources, developing and directing the company’s uranium and non-uranium exploration strategy, aiding the company technically through EPA approval for a uranium mine, and guiding the engineering and metallurgical through to scoping level economic assessment.
Dr Shirtliff has had recent exploration success at Toro Energy, discovering multiple zones of massive nickel sulphide mineralization along the Dusty Komatiite, arguably the first massive nickel sulphide mineralization discovered in the Yandal Greenstone Belt in Western Australia.
Dr Shirtliff holds directorships on privately owned consultancy and prospecting companies and is a long-standing member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and the internationally recognized Society of Economic Geologists.
Marc Boudames - Financial Controller
Marc Boudames is experienced in statutory financial reporting, taxation, ERP systems, business analytics, corporate transactions, due diligence, mergers & acquisitions, finance, joint ventures and divestments. He previously worked at RSM Bird Cameron, as general manager –finance & administration for ASX-listed Redport Ltd and Mega Uranium (Australia), a Canadian TSX-listed mining and equity investment company focused on global uranium properties and multi-mineral exploration. He has worked for multiple companies across various industries, including listed and public companies associated with the mining and oil and gas sectors, such as WesTrac, CB&I and Spotless Group.
Nuclear Fuels
Overview
Nuclear Fuels Inc. (CSE:NF|OTCQX:NFUNF) is a uranium exploration company advancing early-stage, district-scale In-Situ Recovery (“ISR”) amenable uranium projects towards production in the United States of America. Leveraging extensive proprietary historical databases and deep industry expertise, Nuclear Fuels is well-positioned in a sector poised for significant and sustained growth on the back of strong government support. Nuclear Fuels has consolidated the Kaycee district in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin under single-company control for the first time since the early 1980s. Currently executing its second drill program at the Kaycee Project, the Company aims to expand on historic resources across a 33-mile trend with over 110 miles of mapped roll-fronts defined by 3,800 drill holes.
The Company’s strategic relationship with enCore Energy Corp., America’s Clean Energy Company™, offers a mutually beneficial “pathway to production,” with enCore owning an ~18% equity interest and retaining the right to back-in to 51% ownership in the flagship Kaycee Project in Wyoming’s prolific Powder River Basin.
The company’s flagship project, Kaycee, is located in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin, the backbone of the United States’ domestic uranium production. With existing historic resources of nearly 2.5 million pounds (Mlbs) of uranium, the project has the potential to become a large-scale uranium producer. Eighty-nine drill holes were completed in 2023. Phase 2 of the drill program commenced on April 29, 2024, with an additional 700 permitted drill holes designed to expand the areas drilled in 2023 and define new mineralized zones along trend.
Wyoming is the USA's leading uranium-producing state, home to the largest known uranium ore reserves in the US. Wyoming is also a jurisdiction that supports energy development, being among a handful of US states with an ‘Agreement State’ status, which provides for a “one-window” streamlined permitting program for new uranium projects.
Nuclear Fuel’s Kaycee project is potentially amenable for in-situ recovery (ISR) extraction technology, an environmentally responsible and economically superior uranium extraction process. Over 60 percent of all uranium extractions globally use this technology.
In addition to the Kaycee project, some of the company’s other assets include the Bootheel project in Wyoming (uranium) and the Moonshine project in Arizona (uranium). Through this portfolio of projects, Nuclear Fuels is confident it can contribute to the U.S.’ need to develop a safe, environmentally superior, and reliable source of domestic uranium, thereby reducing foreign supply dependence and ultimately contributing to the global energy transition.
Assets in uranium mining jurisdictions
Some of the most important challenges faced by the world today are climate change and energy security. Nuclear energy can play an important role in addressing these concerns.
Nuclear energy is a clean and carbon-free energy source. It is the largest source of carbon-free electricity in the US, as it generates electricity without harmful pollutants such as nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, or mercury. In addition, nuclear energy has a small land footprint meaning it can produce relatively large amounts of power using small land mass. Typically, a 1,000-MW nuclear plant requires around 1 square mile to operate. In comparison, wind farms require 360 times more land area to produce the same amount of electricity, and solar photovoltaic plants require 75 times more area, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. Nuclear fuel is also extremely energy dense. For perspective, a half-inch-tall uranium pellet creates as much energy as 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas, 120 gallons (about 454.25 L) of oil, or 1 ton of coal. Lastly, the nuclear power industry has a strong safety culture; delivering power safely and efficiently, especially so in comparison to coal-fired power plants.
Given these benefits, the world today is experiencing a nuclear renaissance. Roughly 200 nuclear reactors are currently under construction or planned – an increase of more than 40 percent of the currently operating nuclear fleet. In Japan, 10 reactors have restarted, and 16 additional reactors have applied for restarts. Likewise, the UK plans to build eight new nuclear reactors to increase its energy production. Additionally, the US is heavily focused on nuclear energy, with several nuclear power plants in America currently undergoing the permitting process to restart power generation. Approximately 20 percent of electricity generated in the US comes from nuclear energy sources, according to data from the US Department of Energy. However, about 95 percent of the uranium that fuels America’s nuclear reactors is imported. The continued increase in the price of uranium is fueling the drive to accelerate uranium exploration in the US to boost domestic production.
To produce large amounts of nuclear energy, the US needs domestically produced uranium fuel. Currently, the majority of uranium is imported from foreign producers such as Russia, Kazakhstan and China. To reduce dependence on foreign uranium supply, the US is seeking to strengthen its domestic supply sources. Nuclear Fuels is well positioned to become a leading domestic uranium exploration company with a potential pathway to production with enCore Energy, with the Kaycee Project in Wyoming.
Wyoming is a proven and effective uranium permitting jurisdiction. Its status as an Agreement State ensures permitting and advancing uranium projects are more efficient and streamlined compared to most other states. It is also important to note that most uranium production in Wyoming, especially in the Powder River Basin, involves the ISR extraction method. Wyoming hosts at least 10 ISR operations that have produced more than 45 Mlbs of U3O8.
What is in-situ recovery?
In-situ recovery (ISR) offers a minimally intrusive, eco-friendly and economically competitive approach to mineral extraction. It’s been proven a successful technique for mining uranium, especially from lower-grade deposits that might not warrant conventional open pit or underground mining due to costs. Unlike traditional mining, ISR doesn’t involve open pits, waste dumps or tailings, making it more environmentally friendly. This method also streamlines the permitting, development, and remediation processes. With ISR, uranium is extracted without disturbing the surface, and once the process is complete, the land is restored to its original state and purpose.
Since its development in the 1960s, ISR technology has evolved significantly. Today, it’s a controllable, safe and benign uranium production method that is highly regulated in the US. ISR currently accounts for about 70 percent of global uranium production. Some nations, like Kazakhstan and Australia, still employ strong chemicals like sulfuric acid for extraction. Many companies operating in the US opt for a mix of oxygen and sodium bicarbonate in the local groundwater, which extracts uranium with minimal environmental impact and at a near-neutral pH.
With ISR, uranium extraction is accomplished in liquid form through injection and recovery wells. Oxygen is injected with water and no toxic chemicals are used. Compared to conventional mining, it saves a significant amount of water. The use of this technology leads to minimal surface disruption, no tailings and no waste piles. Land and water revert to the original use category once the extraction is completed.
Company Highlights
- Consolidation of the 33-mile trend of the Kaycee Project in Wyoming’s prolific Powder River Basin.
- Permitted 700 hole drill program underway at the Kaycee Project to expand on historic resources across a 33-mile trend with over 110 miles of mapped roll-fronts defined by 3,800 drill holes.
- Strategic relationship with enCore Energy Corp., America’s Clean Energy Company™, for a pathway to production;
- Leveraging extensive proprietary historical databases to build a long-term pipeline of projects in progressive jurisdictions.
- The company is led by industry experts with extensive experience and credentials in uranium exploration and development, and all aspects of ISR uranium operations.
- In the rising global demand for carbon-free sources of energy production, Nuclear Fuels is well positioned to contribute, through exploration, to a reliable supply of domestic uranium to fuel America’s nuclear energy.
- The US is the world’s largest consumer of nuclear energy, with 20 percent of its electric grid fueled by nuclear energy, yet most of its uranium fuel is imported.
- Uranium prices continue to rise due to consistent and growing uranium demand and constraints on current production capacity.
- enCore Energy is the company’s largest shareholder with an 18.3 percent stake, while management and other insiders hold 6.7 percent, with CEO Greg Huffman holding 3.2% of this.
Key Project
Kaycee Project, Wyoming
The Kaycee project is the company’s flagship asset. It is the largest ISR exploration project in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin (PRB) and covers a 33-mile mineralized trend with over 110 miles of identified roll fronts and over 42 square miles of mineral rights. The project comprises three historically productive sandstone formations - Wasatch, Fort Union and Lance - that are mineralized and potentially amenable to ISR extraction. For the first time since the 1980s, the Kaycee Project is now held by a single company.
With over 3,800 drill holes, historic drilling has confirmed uranium mineralization in all three historically productive sandstones within the PRB, occurring over more than 1,000 feet of vertical section. The majority of the project is not well-explored, with drilling concentrated on approximately 10 percent of the area. The company’s Phase 1 drilling program, conducted in 2023, focused on the Saddle Zone which hosts a historic resource of 519,000 lbs. The initial results from the first 12 holes were encouraging. High-grade mineralization was encountered in five holes with grade thickness (GT) ranging from 0.441 to 0.908. The highest-grade intercept is 3 feet of 0.240 percent e U3O8. Five holes have a GT of >0.3 which is considered suitable for inclusion in a wellfield.
Table of Significant Results
Phase 1 drilling during 2023 successfully confirmed and expanded historic resources returning grades ranging from trace to 6.5 feet at 0.187 percent U3O8 (Gamma log) with a grade thickness of 1.216; Phase 2 of the drill program, commenced on April 29, 2024, to expand historic uranium mineralization at depth and expand mineralization along trend and on other high-priority targets identified with an additional 700 permitted drill holes.
Nuclear Fuels acquired this project from enCore Energy, which, upon Nuclear Fuels establishing a minimum of an NI 43-101 compliant resource of 15 Mlbs U3O8, retains a back-in right for 51 percent of the project by paying 2.5 times the exploration costs and financing the project to production. This provides a clear path to production in case of major discovery at Kaycee.
Other Projects
Bootheel Project, Wyoming
The Bootheel project in Southeast Wyoming consists of roll-front mineralized zones identified in three distinct, stacked sandstone formations. Historic metallurgical testing has indicated better-than-average uranium recovery kinetics and aquifer rehabilitation. A historic NI 43-101 report in 2007, includes an indicated resource of 1.443 million (Mt) @ 0.038 percent U3O8 for 1.089 Mlbs U3O8, and inferred resource of 4.399 Mt @ 0.037 percent U3O8 for 3.249 Mlbs U3O8.
Bobcat Project, Wyoming
This project is located in the Shirley Basin, 25 miles south of Casper, Wyoming in Albany County. The Shirley Basin is a proven and prolific producer of uranium credited with over 84 million pounds produced between 1959 and 1992 from producers including Getty Oil Company, Texaco, Pathfinder Mines Corporation, and Cogema Mining. Moreover, the Shirley Basin is home to the first commercial use of the ISR technique to extract uranium from sandstone-host deposits.
Moonshine Project, Arizona
The Moonshine Springs project is in Mohave County, Arizona. The project comprises approximately 1,000 acres, including 23 owned lode mining claims along with seven lode mining claims and 320 acres of fee land held under lease. This property was earlier explored during the 1970s and 1980s by Exxon Corp and later by Pathfinder.
This project consists of at least three stratigraphic zones, where the sandstone-hosted uranium occurs. The upper two zones lie at an average depth of 170 feet and are considered open pit candidates with the lower zone lying at a depth of 760 feet. The project is amenable to ISR with a historic resource of 2.4 Mlbs grading 0.16
Lisbon Valley Project, Utah
This project is in the Lisbon Valley Uranium District in Southeast Utah and covers approximately 2,211 acres. The project has two claim blocks – LS and JB. The LS claim group is located southeast and adjacent to the Lisbon mine, which was operational between 1972 and 1988, producing approximately 22 Mlbs of U3O8. Historical drilling at LS claim dating back to 2007 reported uranium mineralization amounting to 17.5 feet grading 0.11 percent U3O8.
Management Team
William M. Sheriff – Chairman
William Sheriff is the founder and presently serves as the executive chair of enCore Energy Corp., a leader in ISR uranium production. He was a pioneer in the uranium renaissance as co-founder and chairman of Energy Metals, which was acquired by Uranium One for $1.8 billion and owns the largest domestic uranium resource base in US history.
Gregory Huffman - Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
Gregory Huffman brings more than two decades of mining analysis and equity finance experience with a focus on uranium and other energy-related metals. Huffman's diverse background includes roles in mining specialty sales, fund management, and equity research in the metals and mining sector. In his career, he has been instrumental in leading cross border coordination in global mining financial matters, including his work as a mining analyst focused on uranium from 2004 to 2007. His most recent experience, from 2016 to 2024, was as the global head of mining sales at Canaccord Genuity where he employed his broad range of geological and financial skills to evaluate mining companies exploring, developing, and producing precious, base and energy-related metals, including uranium. Huffman is known for his insightful industry publications, the "Canaccord Genuity High Grade Mining Minute" and "Huffer's High Grade Nuggets."
Eugene Spiering - Director
Eugene Spiering is a registered geologist with more than 30 years of experience and recently served as VP of exploration for Quaterra Resources, where he led the discovery of the only two uranium deposits in Arizona. He also worked on the Kaycee Uranium District in the early 1980s.
David Miller - Director
David Miller is a businessman, professional economic geologist, and a past member of the Wyoming State Legislature. He previously served as the chief executive officer of Strathmore Minerals before its merger with Energy Fuels in 2013. His career has spanned more than 40 years and started with Utah International in the US, which evolved into Orano Group, the French nuclear power conglomerate.
Larry Lahusen - Director
Larry Lahusen holds a BSc in geology from the University of New Mexico (1969) and has been active as an exploration geologist for more than 30 years. He began his career exploring for uranium deposits in the Colorado Plateau region in the US. He has directed and designed exploration programs that resulted in the discovery and subsequent development of the two uranium deposits located in the Lisbon Valley District, Utah.
Richard Munson - Director
Richard Munson has been active in the natural resources business for more than 35 years, starting as a natural resources lawyer specializing in taxation. He moved to the private sector in the mid-80s when he joined the Energy Fuels companies owned by John Adams. Energy Fuels Nuclear became the largest US uranium producer in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In 1999, Munson and John Adams co-founded ETK, which then owned the Toroparu gold-copper project in Guyana, South Africa. Munson continues to be active in the international resource sector.
Brahm Spilfogel - Director
Brahm Spilfogel is an award-winning financial executive with over 25 years of experience in resource portfolio management. He recently retired from RBC Global Asset Management where he served as managing director and senior portfolio manager, co-managing a number of portfolios including the RBC Global Precious Metal Fund, RBC Global Resources Fund, and the RBC Small and Mid-Cap Resources Fund, with assets exceeding $2 billion. As one of Canada's most well-regarded resource portfolio managers, Spilfogel has actively engaged with corporate boards, offering strategic insights and contributing to governance, safety, and sustainability discussions. His deep expertise in the resources sector extends to financial analysis, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets.
Monty Sutton – Chief Financial Officer
Monty Sutton brings more than 35 years of experience in public markets, corporate governance, senior administration and accounting and has served on the management teams and boards for many private and publicly traded companies. Sutton has held positions as senior management accountant for MacMillan Bloedel, investment advisor, insurance specialist, corporate development manager and most recently chief financial officer.
Mark Travis – Project Manager
Mark Travis has over 17 years of mineral industry experience in a variety of different settings including both energy and precious metals. He was instrumental in the Strathmore Minerals development of the Gas Hills Wyoming properties during the 2006-2013 uranium cycle. He is the director of the Geological Society of Nevada and the Nevada Mineral Exploration Coalition and is a certified professional geologist through AIPG.
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